Collar and stay therefor



ZJIEMQEZ Sept. 17, W3. M. ROBBINS COLLAR AND STAY THEREFOR Filed April7, 1953 Patented Sept. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLLAR ANDSTAY THEREFOR Maurice Robbins, Newtonville, Mass. Application April 7,1933, Serial No. 664,912

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to collars of the turn-down type having aninner neckband and an outer portion folded in turned-over position onthe neckband and terminating in peaks, and more particularly to staystherefor.

The object of the invention is to provide collars of the turn-down typewith pockets and a stay having a simple construction which is easy toinsert into and withdraw from the pockets and which will maintain thepeaks in a sightly condition after long wear and frequent laundering.

To the accomplishment of this object, and such others as'may appearhereinafter, the various features of the present invention reside incertain devices, combinations and arrangements of parts, hereinafterdescribed and then set forth in detail in the appended claims, whichpossess advantages readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

The various features of the present invention will be understood readilyby those skilled in the art' from an inspection of the accompanyingdrawing illustrating the best forms of the collars at present devised,in which,

V Figure 1-is a'view in front elevation showing one form of the collar;

Fig. 2 is a detail view in front elevation showing another form of-thecollar;

Fig. 3 is a detail view in front elevation showing a third form of stay;

Fig. 4 is a detail view in sectional elevation on the line 4-4, Fig. 1;

Figs. 5- and 6-are views in front and side elevations, respectively, ofanother form of stay;

. Figs. '7 and 8 are views in front and side ele- 3 vations,respectively, of another form of stay;

Fig. 9 is a detail view of one of the legs of the stay illustrated inFig. 3; 7

Figs. 10 and 11 are front and side elevations, respectively, of the stayillustrated in Fig. 2;

Figs. 12- and 13 are front and side elevations. respectively, of anotherform of stay, and

Fig. 14 is a detail view in front elevation showing the pockets on theinside faces of the peaks.

In the illustrated embodiments of the present invention the collar i5 isof the turn-down type having an inner neckband l6 and an outer portionll folded in turned-over position on the neckband It and terminating inpeaks l8. The collar l5 forms part of a shirt [9 and is closed at theneck by a closure comprising a button 20, on one end of the neckband.which is received by a button hole 2|, (Fig. 4), on the other end of theneckband. The button 28 shown is secured to the neckband by a shank ofthread. It will be apparent, however, that a commercial removable collarbutton is a full equivalent of the button 20 shown within the scope ofthe present invention. As shown, the peaks l8 flare outwardly,permitting a necktie 22 to be inserted therebetween in position to hidethe button 20. 5

The inside face of each peak I 8 is provided with a pocket 23substantially triangular in shape, it being open along the side 24 andclosed along the sides 25 and 2B. The edges of the pockets along thesides 25 and 26 may be hemmed in be- 10 tween the plies of materialforming the turnedover portion l1 and secured in position by the seam 2!asin Fig. 1. The pockets 23 may be secured in place, however, by aseparate seam 28 as in Fig. 2.

With this construction the peaks, one at a time, or simultaneously, maybe turned upwardly after the collar is closed at the neck, either beforeor after the necktie has been tied in place, and a resilient stay 29inserted into the pockets 23. The 20 stay 29 (Fig. 1) comprises a pairof legs 36 the turned back ends of which engage, respectively, thebottoms of the pockets in the angle between the sides 25 and 26. Thelegs 30 are joined by a loop 3| projecting downwardly into the space be-25 tween the peaks in position out of sight beneath the necktie.

The normal maximum spread of the legs 3!] is substantially less than themaximum flare of the peaks so that the legs 30 are spread slightly dur-30 ing the act of inserting them into the pockets, thus insuring thatwhen the ends of the legs engage the bottom of the pockets with thepeaks turned down into the position of Fig. l, the legs will exertlateral tension on the peaks tending to draw them together. Owing to theflare of the peaks and the engagement of the ends of the legs 30 in theapexes thereof this lateral tension of the stay exerts also longitudinaltension on the peaks tending to maintain their inside edges in a smoothcondition.

Broadly considered, the stay may be constructed to clear the fold. Inorder to hold the collar in place below the Adams apple it is preferredto provide the stay 29 between each leg 30 and the loop 3! with a loop33. The loops 33 engage the fold on opposite sides of the space betweenthe peaks and cooperate with the ends of the legs 30 to hold the collarin its proper position on the neck.

In some cases it may be desirable to provide the loop 3| with a hook 34(Figs. 2 and 10) so that it may be hooked beneath the shank of thebutton 20. The loop 3| may be bent forwardly at an angle as well asdownwardly, (Figs. 5 and 6),

to form a rest for the necktie knot. As shown in Figs. 12 and 13 theloop 3| may be bent forwardly, then downwardly, then backwardly anddownwardly, and finally forwardly to provide a tie-rest 35, a hook 36for embracing the shank of the button, and a finger-piece 31 which mayengage and support the necktie knot and serves to facilitate theinsertion of the stay into and its withdrawal from the pockets 23 or thepositioning of the hook 36 behind the button 20 and beneath its shank.As shown in Fig. 12, the loop runs forming the hook 36 converge closelyat the point from which the finger piece 31 extends so that the bottomof the hook 36 forms an abutment for the shank of the button 20,limiting the upward movement of the hook when being positioned behindthe button. Should the stay be improperly presented to the button 20, asby initially positioning the bottom of the hook 36 to the left or theright of the button shank, the fact that the loop runs of the hookconverge downwardly renders it easy for the user to slide a loop run inengagement with the button shank until the bottom of the hook 3B isdirectly beneath the shank.

As shown in Fig. 1 the ends of the legs 30 engage in the apexes of thepeaks thus imparting a stiff collar effect to the collar 15. In Fig. 2the ends of the legs engage the bottoms of the pockets spaced from theapexes of the peaks thus imparting a soft collar effect to the collarHi.

In order that the legs may accommodate them- .selves to the directionsin which the bottom edges of the peaks extend rearwardly the ends of thelegs 33 may be extended upwardly at an angle of 45 degrees, (Figs. '7and 8).

Referring to Fig. 3 the legs 30 may be provided with sections 38 whichconverge inwardly from the loops 33 into engagement with the sides 26 ofthe pockets 23 at points spaced from the apexes of the peaks, and withsections 39 which engage the sides 26 down into the angles formed by thesides 25 and 26. Preferably the sections 39 are flattened (Fig. 9) andbent backwardly at an angle of l5 degrees to accommodate themselves tothe directions the bottom edges of the peaks extend rearwardly.

In all forms of the present invention the maximum spread of the legs issubstantially less than the maximum flare of the peaks so that the actof inserting the stay in the pockets subjects the legs to tension withthe result that the peaks are stretched both laterally andlongitudinally.

What is claimed as new, is:

1. In a shirt of the attached turn-down collar type having an innerneckband closed at the neck by a closure of the button and hole type, anouter portion folded in turned-over position on the neckband andterminating in flaring peaks, a pocket on the inside face of each peak,and a resilient stay having a body portion and flaring legs, said legsbeing normally spread apart substantially less than the maximum spreadof the peaks and being engaged with the pockets, respectively, totension the peaks laterally, and said body portion comprising a loop aportion of which projects downwardly substantially in embrace- 1 mentwith opposite sides of the shank of the button, the lower extremity ofsaid loop projecting forwardly from the shank embracing portion to forma rest for the necktie knot to prevent it from falling into the spacebetween the flaring peaks.

2. In a collar of the turn-down type having an inner neckband and anouter portion folded in turned-over position on the neckband andterminating in flaring peaks, a pocket on the inside face of each peak,and a resilient one-piece stay having contact with the fold on oppositesides of the space between the peaks, an intermediate loop projectingdownwardly into the space between the peaks, and legs converging firstfrom the points of contact with the fold inwardly into engagement withthe closed sides of the pockets adjacent the inside edges of the peaks,respectively, and then flaring in engagement with said sides to thebottoms of the pockets.

3. In a collar of the turn-down type having an inner neckband and anouter portion folded in turned-over position on the neckband andterminating in flaring peaks, a pocket on the in side face of each peak,and a resilient one-piece stay having contact with the fold on oppositesides of the space between the peaks, an intermediate loop projectingdownwardly into the space between the peaks, and legs converging firstfrom the points of contact with the fold inwardly into engagement withthe closed sides of the pockets, respectively, and then flaring inengagement with said sides to the bottoms of the pockets, said flaringportions of the legs being flattened and bent at an angle to accommodatethemselves to the directions the peaks extend rearwardly.

4. In a collar of the turn-down type having an inner neckband, a buttonand hole closure therefor, and an outer portion folded in turned-overposition on the neckband and terminating in flaring peaks, a pocket onthe inside face of each peak, and a resilient one-piece stay havingcontact with the fold on opposite sides of the space between the peaks,legs engaged with the bottoms of the pockets, respectively, and a loopprojecting downwardly into the space between the peaks, the lowerextremity of said loop projecting forwardly to form a rest for thenecktie knot to prevent it from falling into the space between the peaksand the loop portions next above said extremity being adapted to liebehind the button substantially in embracement with opposite sides ofthe shank thereof.

5. In a collar of the turn-down type having an inner neckband and anouter portion folded in turned over position on the neckband andterminating in flaring peaks permitting the introduction of a necktietherebetween, a pocket on the inside face of each peak, and a resilientstay having contact with the fold on opposite sides of the space betweenthe peaks, flaring legs engaged with the bottoms of the pockets,respectively, and a loop, projecting downwardly from the portions of thestay which contact the fold, bridging the space between the peaks in aposition to be hidden by the necktie, said legs having a normal maximumspread substantially less than the maximum spread of the peaks totension the peaks laterally, and the lower extremity of said loopprojecting forwardly to form a rest for the necktie knot to prevent itfrom falling into the space between the peaks.

6. In a shirt of the attached turn-down collar type having an innerneckband closed at the neck by a closure of the button and hole type, anouter portion folded in turned-over position on the neckband andterminating in peaks, a pocket on the inside face of each peak, and aresilient stay provided with a body portion and with legs, the legsbeing engaged with the bottoms of the pockets and the body portioncomprising a loop a portion of which projects downwardly substantiallyin embracement with opposite sides of the shank of the button, the lowerextremity of said loop projecting forwardly from the shank embracingportion to form a rest for the necktie knot.

7. A resilient one-piece stay for a collar of the turn-down type havingan inner neckband, a button and hole closure therefor, and an outerportion folded in turned-over position on the neckband and terminatingin peaks, comprising, in combination, legs extending downwardly forengagement with the peaks, loops at the upper ends of said legs,respectively, and an intermediate loop open at its upper end andconnected to said first named loops, said intermediate loop beingprovided with oppositely disposed cooperating portions adapted to bepositioned behind the button substantially in embracement with oppositesides of its shank, said cooperating portions aproaching each other attheir lower ends so as to abut the under portion of the shank of thebutton when said cooperating portions are positioned in embracement withthe shank, and the closed end of said intermediate loop being spacedfrom the shank-abutting ends of the cooperating portions.

8. A resilient one-piece stay for a collar of the turn-down type havingan inner neckband, a button and hole closure therefor, and an outerportion folded in turned-over position on the neckband and terminatingin flaring peaks, comprising, in combination, legs extending downwardlyfor engagement with the peaks, loops at the upper ends of said legs,respectively, and an intermediate loop open at its upper end andconnected to said first named loops, said intermediate loop comprisingoppositely disposed cooperating portions adapted to be positioned behindthe button substantially in embracement with opposite sides of its shankand a forwardly projecting portion at the lower ends of said cooperatingportions adapted to be grasped by the user to facilitate the placing ofthe cooperating portions behind the button, said forwardly projectingportion when in place, forming, by reason of its forward projection, arest for the necktie knot to prevent it from falling into the spacebetween the peaks.

9. A resilient one-piece stay for a collar of the turn-down type havingan inner neckband, a button and hole closure therefor, and an outerportion folded in turned-over position on the neckband and terminatingin spaced peaks, comprising, in combination, legs extending downwardlyfor engagement with the peaks, loops at the upper ends of said legs,respectively, and an intermediate loop open at its upper end andconnected to said first named loops, said intermediate loop comprisingoppositely disposed cooperating portions adapted to be positioned behindthe button substantially in embracement with opposite sides of itsshank,'said cooperating portions approaching each other at their lowerends so as to abut the under portion of the shank of the button whensaid cooperating portions are positioned in embracement with the shank,and a closed end projecting forwardly from the lower ends of saidcooperating portions, said closed end being adapted to be grasped by theuser to fa.- cilitate the placing of the cooperating portions behind thebutton and forming, by reason of its forward projection, when the stayis in place, a rest for the necktie knot to prevent it from falling intothe space between the peaks.

MAURICE ROBBINS.

